About a week after TV’s popular but controversial Dr. Oz devoted most of an episode to new findings that suggest Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer, he came under attack from medical professionals with agrichemical industry ties.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, vice chairman and professor of surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, has come under attack from Monsanto for pointing out the dangers of Round Up.

Activists have long expressed concern that Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer and its active ingredient, glyphosate, could be linked to increased risk of cancer and other health concerns. Yet a recent study from a division under the World Health Organization has brought the issue into greater prominence than ever.

In turn, Monsanto is responding with a public relations initiative designed to save the reputation of one of its key innovations, which has evolved from being used solely as a weed killer to being a generic chemical found in many products.

There’s been a decades-long debate over the safety of glyphosate, with the Food and Drug Administration first labelling the product carcinogenic in 1985 then changing their findings to label it safe in 1991. The newest report, released last month, is from the International Agency for Research On Cancer, or IARC, a division of the WHO that is considered a top authority on the subject.

IARC classifies every substance on a scale of 1 through 4, with 1 reflecting extremely carcinogenic substances and 4 reflecting substances which are extremely safe. Based on a review of many studies and scientific findings by over a dozen experts, the IARC determined glyphosate falls into category 2A, indicating that glyphosate “probably” causes cancer.

In a video for his YouTube series Risk Bites, Andrew Maynard, a professor of environmental science at the University of Michigan, elaborates on this category, explaining that while these substances are clearly linked to cancer in animals, “if the data on cancer in humans is … still not conclusive, the substance is likely to be put in group 2A and labeled a probable carcinogen.”

Watch what does “probably cause cancer” actually mean?

“In effect,” he continues, “ending up in group 2 is the equivalent of IARC slapping a ‘Take Care’ label on something. They’re letting you know that under some circumstances if you’re exposed to enough of the stuff, you might get cancer.”

The IARC findings have been widely reported in the press, further damaging the image of a company already targeted by the annual March Against Monsanto, which last year took place in 400 cities worldwide. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, who hosts a popular but controversial TV health program, devoted several segments of his April 7 program to a discussion of the glyphosate cancer risk.

Glyphosate, created in the 1970s, is the key ingredient in the Roundup and many other herbicides. Much of Monsanto’s business model depends on the sale of its “Roundup Ready” seeds, which grow crops that are genetically modified for resistance to glyphosate. Monsanto has responded forcefully to the charges. A special page on the company’s website is devoted to a rebuttal of the IARC report, which links to a Forbes article that declares, “the reality is that glyphosate is not a human health risk even at levels of exposure that are more than 100 times higher than the human exposures that occur under conditions consistent with the product’s labeling,” and an essay called, “Why moms and dads should feel confident in the safety of glyphosate.”

Monsanto officials have also been quoted as accusing the WHO of having a hidden agenda.

“The conclusion is ‘starkly at odds with every credible scientific body that has examined glyphosate safety,’” Monsanto’s vice president for global regulatory affairs, Philip Miller, told The New York Times.

While it’s far from the first time Dr. Oz has been criticized, the timing and authorship of the letter should raise suspicions about the motive. Released about a week after Oz’s attack on Monsanto aired nationwide, the letter has been extensively quoted in the media. Several of the letter’s authors have ties to the American Council on Science and Health, which U.S. Right to Know calls “a front group for the tobacco, agrichemical, fossil fuel, pharmaceutical and other industries.”

More reputable scientists like Maynard caution that everyday substances, such as chemicals commonly found in fried or pickled foods, and even overnight work shifts share glyphosate’s 2A classification from IARC. The label, he cautions, “suggests what could happen but it doesn’t indicate how likely it is.”

Monsanto is pure evil, I agree… but hey, didn’t we forget something? Aspartame is also originally a Monsanto product (the fact that it is now made by others is not important). And Dr Oz said it didn’t do any harm. But whenever he claims a product to be safe, he eats it. But he didn’t eat a product containing aspartame. So he’s in on the dirty game.

Eric

Nice Food Babe-style ad hominem article. “we have no facts or science or anything to refute what you’re saying, so instead we’ll call you a shill or claim you’re smearing us.”

Aimadigithat

Monsanto is a blessing for the world,
without Monsanto there would be much more hunger in the world and farming would be more polluting.

Thornye Rose

The world is overpopulated. Generations now have afflictions never seen decades ago, when food was pure.

Kim Thompson

Dr. Oz is a quack and a shyster. He doesn’t need Monsanto to smear his reputation, he does an exceptional job of that on his own.

Seapost

Since it’s so safe and non-toxic.. Might I suggest that the head-honchos of Monsanto submit to a nice, long, soothing, steam-bath of glyphosate. Perhaps their lawyers could join in. I’m sure that all this hoopla is quite stressful.

this is the dumbest argument in the history of everything. “if it’s safe, why not ingest 5000x the amount you’re supposed to?” because overexposure to ANYTHING will kill you. get too much sunshine? you get skin cancer. take too much vitamin c? you get poisoned. drink too much water? you DIE. never mind safe, these are things you need to, y’know, live. and the person who thought that “if this is safe then why not drink a glass of it” proves anything is the biggest idiot on the planet. people who actually know how to critically think laugh when people like that try to look smart and fail horribly.

Even if it is a “probable” or “possible” cause of cancer, why would any of us want to ingest it….. what needs to be proven here… that we would willingly eat poison if we thought it might be ok?

Tont Davies

did you know barber shop and picked veg are in the same category by this same group. 3 other groups at WHO disagree

Ddant

so is coffee….and aloe vera extact!

Lyndia Storey

When we are willing to do our research…. tune into our own bodies…. make our own decisions based on our inmate knowledge we will know what to do for ourselves. We truly only need “experts” when we don’t trust ourselves. I still admire Dr. Oz for his unwillingness to “bow down” to the Monsanto’s of the world. They are currently “bullying” the good folks on Kauai who only want to know what is sprayed in the fields around the schools (more then 24 children rushed to the local hospital for treatment after a spray in this last year alone)… all of the medical doctors & nurses on the Island are demanding to know and because the County of Kauai has directed Monsanto, Dow & Syngenta to tell, they are suing the County saying it is “freedom of speech” to not reveal what they are spraying… if what they are spraying on food is safe enough for us to eat why the secrets?

Ddant

Dr. Oz has chosen celebrity over science and he is paying a price for his choice. His only enemies are his peers who are calling him out. He did take a Hippocratic oath which many feel he has broken.

Lyndia Storey

Check out the credentials of the folks who are “calling him out”. Without exception, they are all “shrills” for the GMO companies…. published papers on the safety of GMO foods (paid of course to write them). One had his license revoked for his medical practice…. Sorry that NPR did a story on them as if they were legitimate sources of information. If you have other information on this, I would like to hear it… let me know.

Ddant

Its actually “Shill”, but that’s beside the point. Oz has much bigger problems now. A poll of 1300 Dr.’s was just released. 57% think he should resign. 4% think his medical license should be revoked. 22% think he should resign and have his license revoked. 18% think he should do nothing and they respect him as a medical doctor.

ChilePowered

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second,
it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 – 1860)

Looking for the truth to unfold.

ChilePowered

Why would anyone resist debate on this and similar debates about safety to human health? A well developed idea about disparaging comments like the one below:

This looks to be a long haul and the ammo on the anti-GMO and anti-glyphosate side looks well stocked to pursue the truth.

Tont Davies

the smear attack is trying to smear the anti-OZ as Monsanto. This just shows how crazy the Oz supporters are. talk about natural – natural selection against the people who listen to Oz they will not continue to thrive. The non-Oz listeners will inherit the earth

Thousands are following and listening to Dr. Oz. It doesn’t matter if anyone here thinks he’s a quack. Too many believe him and many more will follow. The world is waking up. Those that believe he’s a quack can rot in their beliefs, we don’t care about you anymore. We’re moving ahead with the mass awakening of the corruption of this planet, like it or not. Say what you want, it will only fuel our causes.

dubinsky

the guy who calls himself Dr Oz ain’t all that much for truth and honesty.

Robert Munro

The fact that “dubinsky”, a troll for the oligarchy, criticizes dr. oz is MORE THAN SUFFICIENT REASON TO BELIEVE Dr OZ.

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